The ugliness emerged at protests billed as the Million Student March. Although the primary grievance was the cost of public education, a group called New York Students for Justice in Palestine commandeered the demonstrations at Baruch, Hunter and the College of Staten Island.

"Zionists out of CUNY! Zionists out of CUNY!" they shouted near Hunter, using a term that refers to the creation of a Jewish homeland. That is tantamount to saying "Jews out of CUNY!"

A chant went up, "Intifada! Intifada! Long live the Intifada!"

This was a reference to the Palestinian struggle against Israel, which has included two waves of heightened terror attacks, including more than 160 bombings that killed more than 800 people.

One Hunter student said on Twitter, "Full-blown anti-Semitism allowed at my college. . . . I witnessed this and froze in fear."

College President Jennifer Raab joined student leaders to "strongly condemn anti-Semitic comments" that were "seeking to exclude members of our campus community based solely on their identity."

They added: "there is no place for hate speech and other acts of bigotry, harassment, intimidation, exclusion and intolerance based on an individual's beliefs and backgrounds."

CUNY Chancellor James Milliken said, "Intolerant, hateful and bigoted speech, while it may be legally protected, is anathema to our values."

Pamela Geller, considered by many Muslims to be an Islamophobe, has lectured at Brooklyn College. (Students protested her appearance — angrily.)

Brilliantly, the University of Chicago's principles of free expression state that "the proper response to ideas" that are "offensive, unwarranted and dangerous is not interference, obstruction, or suppression."

The proper response is "instead, to engage in robust counter-speech."

The petition to banish Students for Justice for Palestine hearteningly testifies that thousands of people, including some unknown number in the CUNY community, condemn the group's vile ideas. They and many more should continue to vocally do so while understanding that protecting the rights even of anti-Semites guarantees rights for all.